Farmer's Wife Quilt Along

February 03, 2012

Well, actually I have sort of. If not abandoned, neglected for sure. So, I got out my book, my blocks, and my Marti Michell template instructions and tried to reconstruct exactly where I am in this project.

I have progressed as far as the 27th block, using my Marti Michell template instructions. Marti received permission from Laurie Hird, the author of the Farmer's Wife book, to produce conversion charts for making the blocks in the book using her special acrylic templates, available on her website. Marti was able to convert 101 of the 111 blocks using her templates. And for the ten blocks that could not be converted to her templates, she suggests alternate blocks that can be. I like being able to rotary cut all my block pieces from the templates, so this method is working well for me.

The templates are not inexpensive, but they are very high quality and can be used to make many other quilt blocks over time. I did not purchase all the templates I needed for the FW blocks at once. I started with sets A and B, which kept me going through about 20 blocks, then I acquired set D and a couple of others from a generous blog follower. I may need to get another set or two to complete all 111 blocks, but really, set A and B seem to be good for most of the blocks in the book.

You can subscribe to receive the template instructions from Marti by clicking here.

Where exactly am I? It has been such a long time since I had made any of the blocks, it took me some time to find my place! I don't want to forget about this project, and was determined to get going on it again.

Marti does not progress through the book doing the blocks in the same order as they are presented there. She skips around, basing her block order on which templates are appropriate for their construction. My most recent block is Broken Sugar Bowl, block #12 in the FW book.

Next up for me is #98 Water Wheel.

I hope to post regularly next week, but I am having two very special house guests. My son and his fiance are coming from Ireland for a visit! I am over the moon excited to see them. Ahren moved to Dublin to start a new life with Mary Ann last May and I haven't seen him since that time. I expect we will be on the go and busy getting all caught up with each other, so I may miss a post or two.

July 21, 2011

Sara and I made mini design boards for our Farmer's Wife blocks yesterday. We found a tutorial on Lori Holt's blog Bee In My Bonnet. Lori explains how to do it way better than I can, so do check out her Mini Design Board tutorial. I love her philosophy, "If you are going to make it, then make it cute". I think Sara and I need to make a few more of these before ours are as cute as Lori's, but never mind. We found new ways to make a mess with a glue gun, that is for sure!

The idea behind making a mini design board, just so you know, is to have a surface to lay out your block components, make sure everything is oriented properly, and then sew.

Every day we have a new arts and crafts project while we wait for Baby E, who is sinking lower and lower into Sara's pelvic cavity by the minute.

Sara's fabric, Clermont Farms, by Minick and Simpson for Moda arrived, and she is ready to start making her blocks!

For another time filler, we went to see the new Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris, and loved it! This movie is like no other Woody Allen movie you have seen, so if you think you don't care for him, do give this one a try. The music alone will win you over!